Star Trek: 10 Best Cardassian Episodes
9. Cardassians
A second season episode of Deep Space Nine, Cardassians is the story of an abandoned child who is being manipulated into a political weapon by that most sly of operators, Gul Dukat. When a Bajoran man with a Cardassian child appears on DS9, Garak takes an interest. The boy takes an immediate dislike to Garak and bites him on the hand. Garak and Dr. Bashir decide to investigate, finding that the boy is the son of a prominent Cardassian politician, Kotan Pa'Dar.
It seems that Gul Dukat had manoeuvred this boy, Rugal, into position when the Cardassians withdrew from Bajor, leaving him as an orphan. Rugal was then to be used to humiliate Kotan Pa'Dar, who is a fierce political rival to Dukat's own ambitions. Bashir and Garak manage to expose the plot and Sisko, elected to decide the boy's fate, returns Rugal to his original parents. Also in this episode, Rugal stays temporarily with the O'Brien's, which leads to Chief Miles having to rexamine his prejudices towards Rugal's people.
The Cardassians are shown to be violent and oppressive in the past, but this episode also highlights just how manipulative and cunning they can be.